


Bob Ross Had it Right

by Sorryimnotthatkindofdoctor



Category: Supernatural
Genre: 15.01, Episode Related, Gen, Midnight Conversations, Supernatural Season 15, season 15 spoilers, soft encouragement
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 04:36:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21009842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sorryimnotthatkindofdoctor/pseuds/Sorryimnotthatkindofdoctor
Summary: After the events of episode 15.01, Castiel passes the night in the bunker & finds himself watching The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross as he comes to grips with the way the world is now.





	Bob Ross Had it Right

**Author's Note:**

> So I love watching Bob Ross – I have no artistic skill, but Bob Ross is just ridiculously soothing & relaxing. And then I started thinking about how Cas would react to Bob Ross – to the way he talks about the world & humanity & nature & kindness. And I just needed that poor, sweet angel to experience a little soft encouragement.

Castiel sat at one of the tables in the library, listening to the soft sounds of night in the bunker. Sam & Dean were both sleeping – well, it was closer to being unconscious than it was restful sleep, but Cas understood that would eventually turn to sleep. The demon who wore his son’s face was locked in a salt-sealed cell in the dungeon. Cas did his best not to pay attention to the soft sounds Belphegor made as he moved around, mumbling to himself. The angel knew it wasn’t Jack, but he’d spent so long attuned to what Jack sounded like that it was difficult to ignore the body moving around.

To distract himself slightly – he didn’t want to become completely engrossed & miss the beginnings of a nightmare from one of the Winchesters or some other disaster that Chuck’s latest apocalypse launched at them – he pulled out Sam’s laptop & went about logging into the Netflix the way the younger hunter had taught him. He went through Sam’s account, knowing he often had documentaries or films the angel had found intriguing. Things that relaxed him in a way the brash comedies & loud action films Dean seemed to favor didn’t.

He clicked on the “Continue Watching” tab & peered at an image of a man with big, curly hair, soft eyes, & a gentle smile. He was holding a palette of paints. _The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross_, the title read. Cas blinked. He hadn’t known either Winchester to show any penchant or desire for painting or artwork, but perhaps it was a new desire. Cas hovered his finger over the button before shuddering as he heard Belphegor speaking with Jack’s voice once more. The angel pushed the button to start the next episode, needing the noise, the focus, to keep him from breaking down again.

A soft melody filled the air & Cas sat back in the chair, watching the screen as the smiling man appeared in coveralls with a bucket & a giant paint brush. He watched as the image changed on screen to reflect a painting & then the man was there again, holding his palette & a brush in front of a canvas.

Castiel lost himself in the gentle, soothing cadence of the man’s speech as he said hello & invited people to either watch or paint along. He’d often heard Dean mutter about something being “as exciting as watching paint dry,” but he’d never actually seemed excited by it. Perhaps this was his chance to see what was so intriguing about this particular method of passing the time.

Within minutes, Cas found himself captivated. It wasn’t just the beauty of the scene being created on the canvas – a beautiful green meadow with mountains in the background & bushes all over. But it was what the man said.

_“This is your world. You get to decide what happens in it.”_

_“We don’t make mistakes – we have happy accidents.”_

_“We’ll put a happy little tree right here & give him a friend. Everyone needs a friend.”_

He watched episode after episode, feeling a soft, melancholic peace settle over him. He briefly registered the sound of footsteps & paused the video, casting his senses out to find Sam slowly walking down the hall.

“Sam, are you – ”

“Fine, Cas. Just…” The younger Winchester shrugged, reaching up to run a hand through his hair. He rolled his shoulder, wincing. The wound still hadn’t healed, but it wasn’t showing any signs of infection or getting worse, either, so the angel took that as a plus. Sam walked over, scratching at his jaw, eyes going wide as he looked at the screen.

“You’re watching Bob Ross?” Sam asked.

“He was on your list, uh… queue,” the angel replied. “He is rather soothing.”

“Yeah, no that’s fine. He is. That’s what I like about it.” Sam dropped into a chair across from him.

“The things he says…” Cas released a slow sigh. “It is what I always thought my father – Chuck. God.” Cas swallowed hard, still unsure what to do with the realization that his Father was not the kind creator he had so long believed. “He is what I always thought Chuck would be like. Kind. Loving. Gracious.”

Sam didn’t say anything, but he echoed Cas’ sigh. The angel knew that Sam was dealing with his own disappointments & struggles regarding Chuck’s revelations & for a moment hesitated to continue, not wanting to add pain to the hunter. He hit play on the screen again & Bob Ross’ soft voice spilled between them again, talking about the beauty of the world & the importance of being kind.

“God is not who I believed him to be.”

“We were all fooled, Cas,” Sam said, reaching up to rub at the bandage under his shirt. “It’s not your fault. None of it is.”

Cas didn’t respond to that, eyes on the screen. “He was not who I believed him to be,” he said again. “But that does not mean I cannot act the way I used to believe he would have wanted. Would have been proud of. With love & kindness. Bravery. Protecting the world.”

Sam sat up a little at that.

“If God is truly gone,” Cas said, watching as Bob Ross ran his brush over the bottom of the canvas, creating a soft reflection effect of water. “Then this world is ours. And we get to decide how it will become. Right?”

Sam gave him a tired smile. “That sounds about right, Cas. The world is ours now.”

“And we get to decide what happens in it,” Cas finished. The video continued playing between them until the artist on the screen finished the relaxing scene & turned to the camera.

_“Until next time, I’d like to wish each & every one of you happy painting & God bless & we’ll see you soon.”_

END


End file.
